Unrequited Affections
by Kirsah
Summary: Before the Cerberus coup Conrad Verner is summoned to a meeting at a bar by a Cerberus contact and there he makes a surprising discovery. One shot.


**A/N: The idea for this one shot was spawned by a discussion thread in the MEFFW group on Facebook about the possible reasons why Udina has a picture of Kaidan Alenko on his desk.**

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Unrequited Affections

The bar/café was filled more than Conrad had expected. There weren't too many vacant spots and he hoped his contact was there already. He had been at home, leafing through his collection of articles and photographs of Commander Shepard when he had received a message on his omni-tool saying he should meet someone at this bar/café on behalf of a Cerberus mission.

Connrad had tried working as a gun-for-hire after the Normandy SR1 had gone down in flames, wanting to follow the example of his hero, Commander Shepard. But after seeing the commander on Ilium and hearing she worked with Cerberus he had also joined the pro-human organisation.

And now they finally had a job for him.

He glanced around, recalling the instructions that had been sent with the message. Far right corner, male contact. There! Wait, wasn't that the human councilor? Conrad could hardly believe it. The human councilor was part of Cerberus? Then they must truly have humanity's best interest in mind. After all, the Councilor surely wouldn't do anything that would harm humanity, would he?

Conrad wiped off his sweaty palms on his pants and walked over to the last table niche on the right hand side. The Councilor was fiddling with his omni-tool and to Conrad's surprise Udina didn't close it as he approached him.

"Mr. Verner," the Councilor began in his slightly sneering way, "please have a seat."

Conrad sat down, feeling uncertain. He wiped off his hands again. "Councilor." Conrad glanced at Udina's open omni-tool and saw a holo of Commander Shepard and a man who he was pretty sure was Major Alenko. It was an older holo, he realized. It must have been taken shortly after the business with the rogue Spectre, Saren.

The odd thing about the holo was its focus wasn't on the commander, but on the man standing next to her. Why would anyone take a picture of the then-lieutenant, when Commander Shepard was standing right next to him? No, it definitely wasn't a good picture of Shepard. She wasn't even looking towards the camera. And the look in the lieutenant's face was one of pure admiration. Nobody should look at Commander Shepard like that!

"I am told, Mr. Verner, that you are an acquaintance of Commander Shepard." Udina continued in his condescending way. "That is why you have been selected for this job."

"I have had the honor of meeting the Commander. I even have a hand-signed photograph of her!" Conrad told the Councilor proudly. Udina smiled at him. At least Conrad hoped it was a smile. It looked more like a grimace and if it was a smile, it didn't reach Udina's eyes. A waiter came over to their table and Conrad ordered something to drink. Udina waited until the serving girl was out of earshot again.

"Very good. In several days Cerberus will be launching a major operation. I cannot give you any details, of course. But your job is to keep the Commander out of harms way."

Conrad slid back and forth on his seat. He was supposed to keep the great Commander Shepard safe! This had to be the best day of his life. Maybe he could tell the Commander how much he admired her then?

The waitress arrived with his drink and he thanked her as she set it on the table. When he looked up he saw Udina was looking passed him with an odd expression on his face. It could almost be called loathing. Conrad's first impulse was to turn around, but instead he glanced up at the large mirror on the wall.

He took a double-take as he recognized the woman that had entered the bar. It was Commander Shepard! She was not in uniform, but in a short dress. Conrad's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw who was accompanying her. Major Alenko, dressed casually in jeans and t-shirt. He felt jealousy stirring in him. He glanced back at the human councilor and saw that Udina was about to take a picture with his omni-tool. Or had just taken one. But if Conrad had to guess by the expression on the other man's face, he would have said Udina was jealous as well.

Conrad looked back into the mirror as it gave him a perfect view of the people at the bar. The two human Spectres seemed almost oblivious of their surroundings as they exchanged tender looks with each other, standing just a little bit closer than was professional. There had been rumors after the memorial for Shepard that there had been a _relationship_ between the commander and the lieutenant. Conrad had always denied that. It couldn't be. But after seeing them now he wasn't sure. He watched as they got their ordered drinks and left again. He was almost grateful they hadn't sat down, but had grabbed a coffee to go.

He looked back at Udina and saw that the Councilor was trying to erase Shepard from the holo he had just taken of the two Spectres. What in the world?

"What are you doing?! You can't just erase Commander Shepard!" Conrad hissed at the older man.

"Why not?" Udina shot back. "That bitch is the only thing that stands between me and the Major. I am sure if I could just keep them apart I could influence him. So far I haven't gotten through to him. Even after I offered him the position as a Spectre he didn't accept right away. Only after he had talked to _Shepard_ did he confirm he would take the position!"

The scales fell from Conrad's eyes. Udina wasn't jealous of Alenko, he was jealous of Shepard! Conrad couldn't believe it. Another case of unrequited affections. That still was no reason to erase Shepard's face from a holo, though. And nobody called her a bitch. _That_ was inexcusable. And it was rather creepy that the Councilor should have _these_ feelings for a man so many years his junior. Conrad was certain that Alenko was about his age and the Councilor was at least fifteen years older, maybe even more.

"She is not a bitch!" Conrad fumed. "And I heard rumors that the man you seem to be mooning over is less than friendly towards Cerberus. I've heard he actually walked away from Shepard while she still worked openly for Cerberus. I bet he only talks to her now because she is apparently back with the Alliance."

"You fool! Shepard never really worked for Cerberus!" Udina spat out. "She is Alliance to the core. And that is the problem. I need her kept out of the way. Especially away from the Major. While I keep Alenko close, you will get close to Shepard. If you ask me you can do whatever you want with her, best of all get rid of her once and for all."

The Commander never really worked for Cerberus? Conrad's gut clenched. He had messed up. Again. And Udina wanted someone to get rid of Shepard once and for all? A sudden rage filled Conrad at these words and the next thing he knew he punched Udina square in the face. He stared at his fist and at Udina covering his nose. He had just punched the human councilor! To his surprise Udina didn't call C-Sec.

"Never do that again, Verner. See to it that Shepard stays out of our way and maybe she will survive the oncoming operation. Oh, and if you tip her off, you will both die." Udina's eyes and voice were pure ice. "And now get out of my sight."

The councilor returned his attention to the holo and continued erasing Shepard's face. Conrad quickly got up and left. He had to warn her somehow. And even if he didn't like Alenko, the man didn't deserve to get caught in the clutches of Udina either. He had to warn them.


End file.
